Origin update introduces FPS counter and cross-party invites

You can also now manage your download speed.

You might've spied Andy reporting on Medal of Honour: Pacific Assault's free Origin stint yesterday, however I'm here to tell you EA's digital distribution service has also treated itself to some functionality-driven tweaks.

A pretty comprehensive beta update introduces a new frames-per-second counter that works independently from Origin itself and can be displayed in whichever corner of your monitor you so choose. Players can now also manage their download speeds—both inside and outside of their games.

Arguably the most interesting feature to sneak into this update, though, is cross-party invites. Here's EA with the skinny on that:

"The recent party invite update allowed you to instantly join your friends while playing the same game. But what about friends playing a different game? Well, now that’s possible too—cross-game invites are here.

"How it works: Enable the Origin Beta via Origin → Application Settings → Participate in Origin client betas. Make sure your friends also enable the beta. Receive a game invite from a friend, and click or press Y or N to accept or decline. Once an invite has been accepted, Origin starts a countdown, giving you another chance to decline before Origin closes your current game. Once the timer is finished, Origin will launch the new game to party up with your friend."